


Captain Unohana's Threat

by junko



Series: Curse of the Nue [30]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-16
Updated: 2012-09-16
Packaged: 2017-11-14 09:23:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji awakes in prison; Captain Unohana confronts Byakuya on a sensitive matter...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Captain Unohana's Threat

In his semi-conscious state, Renji could hear the sounds of arguing

A vaguely familiar female voice was saying, “Unlock the door for me, young man. I don’t care how dangerous you say he is, he’s still wounded.”

“Tell that to the three guys he beat up when we tried to remove Zabimaru.” That was Seventh Seat Yuu Kinjo, leader of Renji’s advance team. Renji recognized his perpetually scratchy voice and no nonsense attitude. “I’m sorry, Captain Unohana. Can’t do it.”

His words didn’t make any sense, though. ‘What guys?’ Renji tried to say, but he was still too deep under to make his lips work right. So next he tried to reach for Zabimaru only to discover his hands stuck in something hard, immovable. Worse, his zanpaktō’s presence felt dim and distant. “No,” he managed to groan weakly, “Zabimaru.”

“See,” Kinjo said. “He’s supposed to be under a ‘forced sleep’ spell. We can’t fucking keep him down.”

 _Jeez, Kinjo. Don’t swear in front of Captain Unohana_ , Renji tried to admonish his soldier, while still blindly hunting for Zabimaru.

But Kinjo kept talking, “That’s why I don’t want to let you in, ma’am. We had to leave him armed. It’s not safe in there for you.”

“I appreciate your concern, Seventh Seat, but I am a captain and I am also armed. Open that door.”

“Your funeral.”

The creaking sound of a barred door swinging open was confusing enough for Renji to pull himself out of the cobwebbed darkness to open one eye. Why was Kinjo in the guardhouse? No, wait, he was on the other side of the door. Renji managed to lift his head enough to look around. He blinked at the sight of his own hands in manacles. 

_Oh. It’s me. I’m the one locked up._

He let his head fall back onto the pillow. Consciousness also brought with it a wave of pain. Renji didn’t even realize he was making a noise, until a cool hand touched his forehead and smoothed away the hair from his face. Unohana whispered, “Hush now, you’re all right.”

But he wasn’t, was he? Ichigo had hit him with something that had shattered… “Zabimaru.”

“Your zanpaktō will heal as you do,” she reminded him. Her big blue eyes crinkled kindly, as she continued, “But I need your cooperation, lieutenant. Your soldiers seem to think you’re going to try to hurt me, but I know you’re better behaved than that. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, even though it grated to hear yet another captain demand that he ‘behave.’

“Can you sit up for me?”

She might as well ask him to try to move a mountain. But, he tried, and eventually, with her help he was able to pull up from the cot with a wet, sucking sound. With her hands on him, the pain receded to a faraway place. Renji knew he should be howling from it, and somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was.

She had him holding on to the edge of the bed for support, and she turned to Kinjo. “Remove the manacles.”

“No,” he said. “I already violated my captain’s orders letting you in there. Besides, do you have any goddamn idea how hard they were to get on in the first place?”

“Watch that mouth, Seventh Seat!” Renji barked, his head still bowed, but his voice stronger than any other part of him. “You swear in front of the lady-captain one more time and I’ll have your pay docked, got it?”

Kinjo raised his fist through the bars and waved it at Renji. “Oi, I don’t take no orders from a yellow-bellied deserter. Anyway, Abarai, you got no authority here. You’ve been dismissed.”

A deserter? 

A cold knife cut through Renji’s heart at that thought. Byakuya had dismissed him? For desertion? How could that be? Dereliction of duty, maybe—but desertion? That was a capital offense. Byakuya intended him to face execution? Was that bastard captain _trying_ to kill off everyone he cared about? 

_No_ , he reminded himself ruefully, _Byakuya is just fucking me. He doesn’t care about me._

Renji could feel his knuckles turning white where he held the edge of the cot, and his arms trembled. But… wait, he couldn’t be charged with desertion, not unless something had changed radically. With effort, he lifted his head and squinted into Unohana’s gentle blue eyes, “Are we at war?”

Her hand was still on his shoulder, and he could feel the warmth of her reistsu spreading through him, calming him. “We are. The head captain declared war on the ryoka a few hours ago.”

Renji tried to get up. He pushed his feet onto the floor, and started to rise. He had to get out of here; he had to get his people organized, get the barracks battle ready. 

Unohana removed her hand. So much pain washed over Renji he collapsed instantly, unable to catch his breath from the torturous agony. Her sweet voice cut through the haze of hurt, to say, “Please don’t try to get up, lieutenant. You can’t do anything until you’ve healed.”

But, despite the fact he’d started to see red from the pain, Renji rolled himself off the low bed and started trying to crawl on his elbows toward the door. 

Somewhere over him, Unohana issued orders. The door clanged open, and feet rushed in. Hands lifted him up. Renji tried to fight them, but with the manacles he could only bash haphazardly. He felt the bed slam into his already injured back, and he cried out from the shock.

A wave—no, a tsunami of reistsu pressed down on him and he was instantly immobilized. The hands that held him down seemed to freeze as well. “Stop immediately,” Unohana commanded softly, but her voice was like a hammer crushing the fight from him. “I will not allow you to injure him any further.” She pushed her way through his soldiers to grip Renji’s face with cool hands, “Look at me, Lieutenant Abarai. You will calm yourself. I would prefer that you to stay conscious for this treatment, but it’s not necessary. If you can’t control yourself, I will put you down.”

_Like a dog._

Wrong choice of words. 

It was a long time until Renji woke again.

#

A soft, unexpected knock came at Byakuya’s door. He looked up. It was very late, and so he had to stifle the habitual impulse to call out to Renji, invite him in. Putting his brush down, Byakuya said, “Enter.”

The door slid open to reveal Captain Retsu Unohana. She smiled softly as she ducked her head politely upon entering. “My apologies, Captain Kuchiki, for disturbing your work at this hour, but it’s been a difficult time for us with everything that’s going on. Do you have time to see me? I’d like to give you a status update.”

“Of course, please make yourself comfortable.” Byakuya stood up to offer her a seat. “There was no need for you to come yourself, my lady captain. I would have been more than satisfied with a written report.”

“That’s very kind,” she said, settling into seiza opposite him. “But, I’m afraid I needed to discuss something with you in private.”

“Indeed?” Byakuya sat back down and rang for a servant.

“It’s about Lieutenant Abarai,” she said, her eyes downcast.

Byakuya tried to control his reaction, but his heart still leapt to his throat in fear. Please let this not be the news he’d been dreading for hours. “I pray he’s well?”

She gave him a curious quirk of a smile. “You do? Pray, that is? Good. That will make what I’ve come to say much easier. You must allow his reinstatement.”

“I cannot,” Byakuya said firmly. Aizen had intercepted Byakuya as he’d left Renji, clearly on the heels of Ichimaru. Aizen had made his usual innocuous declarations of concern, but Byakuya had watched him carefully this time. There was menace behind that mild-mannered look, he was sure. 

Unohana was still looking at Byakuya, her mouth agape.

Byakuya picked up the lieutenant’s badge that he kept beside his inkwell, and set it in front of her. “Here is the proof of his intention to desert. He removed it, quite deliberately, before going after the ryoka alone, against orders. He abandoned his post and his captain in time of war.”

“But war had not yet been declared until after he’d fallen. Surely, you would consider reducing the sentence to dereliction of duty.”

“I am uninterested in hearing arguments until the court-martial,” Byakuya said coolly. He returned his attention to the form in front of him and picked up his brush. “You are welcome to file an official complaint with the head captain, though I doubt that will go well for you. Captains have ultimate authority over their division.”

“And their lovers?”

Byakuya’s hand jerked uncontrollably, smearing his mark. 

“Do you wish my complaint to include that comment, Captain Kuchiki?” she asked sweetly. 

Carefully, he returned the brush to its holder. He folded his hands in his lap. “Are you threatening me, lady-Captain?”

“Not yet,” she said simply, her eyes calmly watching him. “But I would like assurances that Lieutenant Abarai is not being mistreated as retribution for the rough sport you claimed was consensual.”

Byakuya closed his eyes and tried to keep the muscles in his face from spasming. _Rough sport?_ Please gods, let him never hear the genteel Captain Unohana ever utter such an evocative, crude term in his presence again as long as he lived. But, then as the rest of what she said hit him, Byakuya eyes snapped open, “Mistreated? In what way is the lieutenant being mistreated?”

“Manacles, Captain Kuchiki? Really? Your lieutenant is injured, barely able to move without assistance and already under lock and key.”

Byakuya actually had an answer for that. “Renji attacked members of his own troop when they tried to remove his zanpaktō. Since they could not separate him from his weapon, it was decided that such restraints were necessary to insure his safety as well that of as the guards.”

“And the ‘forced slumber’?”

“I understand you were required to use something similar during your visit,” Byakuya countered.

She pursed her lips, the first sign of discomfort. “Yes, I did,” she was forced to admit. “However, it was clear to me that, upon learning we were at war, Lieutenant Abarai was attempting to crawl back to his post, to protect his soldiers and his division. Not what I would call the actions of a deserter.”

The image of Renji straining to return to duty clutched at Byakuya heart. _It should be no surprise_ , he thought. _Renji is ever loyal._ Byakuya had to look away, least she read his thoughts in his gaze. “You may make whatever claims you wish at the trial. You will make an excellent character witness for the defense, I'm sure. Until then, he will be held for desertion.”

She was silent for a long moment. Then, she pointedly asked, “Is that truly all this is about, Captain?”

He could not let her entertain any ideas that he was punishing Renji for a sexual misunderstanding. It was beyond embarassing to imagine explaining himself to the head captain. He could deny any such allegations, but he’d be claiming Unohana was guilty of unfounded slander. No one would believe it; she was so much older than he was, like his mother or grandmother. She could make him look like some randy teenager in front of the entire Gotei 13. Moreover, Kenpachi would happily corroborate, go on at great length in public about Renji's drunken confessions of Byakuya's need for 'discpline' and how Renji said he didn't like it. 

This was a disaster.

Byakuya had known it was a mistake to ever let her touch him--much less agree to be healed. 

The servant arrived and he ordered a tea service for them. Captain Unohana’s eyes stayed hard on Byakuya; it was clear she was serious. She would never let this go. She would make good on her threat, and thwart his ability to protect Renji.

“There is more,” Byakuya said once the servant was gone. He stood to move from behind the desk to a more informal setting off to the side. “But it is not what you think, my lady. Before you rush out to add charges of fraternization to my lieutenant’s laundry list of sins, I would prefer if you would allow me to explain.”

She came over to where he indicated, but still watched him warily. “That * is* what I came to hear, Captain Kuchiki.”

“Indeed,” he said, finding a comfortable pillow for her before seating himself. “Unfortunately, many of my suspicions are unconfirmed, but I believe captains Aizen and Ichimaru may have incited my lieutenant to treason in the hopes of silencing some old grudge.”

Egads, that sounded like the most insane conspiracy theory ever. He looked at Unohana, expecting her to tell him to stop trying to avoid the real issue. He was steeling himself to a return to the mortifying subject of his sex life, when she asked, “So you’re protecting Lieutenant Abarai? Oh, of course! Why didn’t you say so to begin with, Captain Kuchiki?”

“I’ve just maligned the good name of two fellow captains based on nothing but a bad feeling and a few unproven hunches,” he admitted. “I honestly didn’t expect you to believe me.”

The tea arrived. Though he reached for it, Unohana didn’t hesitate to pour for him when the servant left. “Don’t be silly, Captain. I’ve been in service a long time with many, many different sorts of people over the centuries, and I’ve learned to smell a rat. Aizen and Ichimaru are two of a kind. They stink.”

Byakuya was having difficulty containing his amusement at hearing such a dignified person speak so bluntly. “We are in agreement, Captain Unohana.” 

And thus, over tea and cakes, Byakuya told her everything.


End file.
